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Illegal migrant captures surge
Authorities' data show boost among OTMs: 'other than Mexicans'



11:20 PM CST on Saturday, December 10, 2005
By DAVID McLEMORE / The Dallas Morning News


The number of immigrants caught entering the country illegally through Texas and New Mexico jumped by nearly a fourth this year, a leap that coincides with the nation's increasing focus on its porous southern border.

The Border Patrol said 411,221 immigrants were captured by agents working from Brownsville to New Mexico in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, numbers not seen since before a massive federal crackdown in 2001. In fiscal year 2004, the figure was 336,376.

A recent statewide poll found that 79 percent of Texans say the government isn't doing enough to stop illegal immigration.

About three-fourths of those who participated in the Texas Poll said more illegal immigrants are coming to Texas from Mexico. But Customs and Border Protection officials said more than a fourth of apprehensions this year involved illegal crossings by non-Mexican immigrants, listed as "other than Mexicans," or OTMs, the majority Central and South Americans.

South Texas residents and border sheriffs saw the new figures coming.

"We're not surprised. ... It's what we've been talking about," said Rick Glancey, executive director of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, which formed this year to seek help in securing the perimeter.

"Immigration remains a federal responsibility. But our concern at the county level remains with the crime that increasingly accompanies the smuggling of immigrants, crime generated by the dope gangs who also smuggle people," he said.

Local law enforcement officials aren't the only ones concerned. The sheer volume of illegal crossings and the escalating violence just across the Rio Grande have become a key political issue in Congress and the White House.

Nationwide, Border Patrol agents apprehended and detained 1.1 million illegal immigrants in 2005, the vast majority in Texas and Arizona. The sectors covering Texas' border include the El Paso sector, which also covers all of New Mexico.

In the Arizona sector alone, authorities caught nearly 439,000, an 11 percent drop over the previous year. Officials credited tougher enforcement, but that might be leading immigrants instead to cross into Texas.

"We've seen for a long time that anything we do along the border affects someone up and down the river," said Mr. Glancey of the sheriffs' coalition.

Nearly 135,000 people were caught crossing illegally in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, along with another 122,656 in the El Paso sector, two long-established smuggling trails into the state. The Del Rio sector, which covers nearly 60,000 square miles of brush and rocky terrain, had 68,512 captures, a 27 percent increase. Nearly half of all crossers were OTMs.

"The actual number of Mexican nationals caught crossing is actually down," said Hilario Leal, a supervisory agent with the Del Rio sector.

When caught by the Border Patrol, illegal crossers from Mexico are generally sent back across the border. OTMs are held for deportation hearings, but because of a shortage of detention space, most are released into the United States with orders to appear later for legal proceedings.

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a new border security initiative that temporarily closes that loophole as officials work out arrangements with foreign governments for the return of their citizens.

On Dec. 1, just three days after President Bush laid out his newest strategy for border control – a combination of tougher security measures and a modified guest-worker plan – Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff repeated the White House commitment to a secure border.

The government plans to put 1,700 new Border Patrol agents along the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico, roughly a 10 percent increase. This second manpower addition in as many years would add about 450 agents along the Texas border, for a total of about 5,100. Nearly half those new agents would be placed in El Paso and Hudspeth counties, based on predictions of increased traffic there.

Gov. Rick Perry also has his eye on the border. The governor recently announced $6 million in grants to the 16 counties along the Texas border to help beef up security. According to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center, there are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States today, up from 8.4 million five years ago.

SURVEY SAYS
A new poll shows that Texans consider illegal immigration a major, growing problem and blame both government and business. Some highlights:

84% consider illegal immigration from Mexico a serious problem (15% don't)

76% believe more illegal immigrants are coming to Texas from Mexico over the past few years (19% say it's about the same, 1% say the numbers are dropping)

49% believe illegal immigrants take jobs Americans don't want (37% say they take jobs away from Americans)

79% say the government isn't doing enough to stop illegal immigration (15% say it is)

83% want to force businesses to identify and report illegal immigrants (13% disagree)

86% say businesses contribute to the problem by hiring illegal immigrants (11% disagree)

47% favor private-citizen patrols on the border (49% oppose)

Percentages may not equal 100 because of rounding or some who gave other answers in poll.